The World's first flying hotel - The Hotelicopter

March 30, 2009 The double deck Airbus A380 has set new high
standards for luxury accommodation in the air but, unless you can afford
to deck out your own A380 as a private jet,
the Hotelicopter concept aims to top this airborne opulence by
equipping a four story converted heavy lift aircraft with 18
luxuriously-appointed room hotels.

Modeled on the Soviet Mil V-12, the largest helicopter ever built, of
which only two prototypes were built in the 1960s, the Hotelicopter
company would like us to believe they purchased one of these prototypes
in 2004 with the Hotelicopter now ready for its maiden flight in June
26th. We're not sure that we do, but we like the concept.
While the computer generated images of the Hotelicopter show a lot of
imagination, the specified Maximum Takeoff Weight of 105850 kg (232,870
lb) is actually exactly same as that of the original Mil V-12 which is
highly unlikely given the Hotelicopter has at entire 3 story luxury
hotel added onto it. No need to remind readers that it is April 1st this
week.
The design outlined at the Hotelicopter site includes soundproofed
rooms, each boasting a queen-sized bed, fine linens, a mini-bar, coffee
machine, wireless internet access, and all the luxurious appointments
you’d expect from a flying five star hotel - there's even the promise of
room service.
The original Mil V-12 was an amazingly large helicopter which
absolutely dwarfs any heavy lift Helicopter in use today. Each rotor had
a diameter of nearly 115 ft (35m), mounted at the end of a large wing,
making the distance from the tips of each rotor blade wider than the
wingspan of a Boeing 747. The two Soviet built V-12s did fly and still
hold the helicopter heavy lift world record of 44,205 kg (88,636 lb) at a
height of 2,255m (7,398 feet) set on August 6th 1969 but were simply
too big and difficult to maneuver to be practical so never reached
production.
Hotelicopter has announced a travel schedule for the flying hotel
starting with the inaugural flight from John F. Kennedy International
Airport June 26th 2009. Tickets will be on same at an undisclosed price
once their reservation system is open. We'd like to believe it will
happen, but...